Roller or caster



Nov. 4, 1930. v M. kuR'rzoN 1,780,755

ROLLER OR CASTER Filed April 23. 1928 b 3-? 15/9739.- jg; 4 ORRIS KuRrzo/v Patented Nov. 4, 1930 UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE 'MoRRIs KURTZON, F HIGHLAND PARK, rumors," AssrGN'oR To GARDEN CITY PL T me AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or CHICAGO, rrmmoisn CORPORATION or ILLINOIS Application fiiea aprn 23,

My presentinvention relates to the rollers or casters that it is customary to employ upon sliding doors of different types, such as in show-cases; bookcases, telephone booths and similar articles of furniture, and this invention has more particular relation to a structure that ismounted on the door and is supported by androlls upon a track secured to provide aroller or caster that is ,efi'ective and dependable, in' performing its functions and at the same time is economical to fabricate and the floor of the case or cabinet below the sliding door. In the use of rollers for sliding or disappearingdoors especially where the roller is secured to one ofthe horizontal edges of thedoor it is freqeuntly necessary, after I in orderto permit the same to easily slide and swing to its proper or desired position. With the present roller or caster the adjustment defects in the mill-work' or construction of the door may be readily overcome.

above mentioned ma y be readily accomplished by the use of simple tools so that any It frequently transpires that after the door D 5' has beenin use for a while it will be found that parts of the roller or caster have worked out of adjustment. Thepresentst ructures of this character, so far as I am aware, are not 'provided with means to lock the adjustable elements in such manner that there is an interlocking of the parts which positively insures against accidental release. The known devices are limited more or less and are not dependable when subjected to the service demanded of such devices when installed in such places as telephone booths and the like where they are in constant and severe use.

' With these inherent defects in mind I have devised a swiveling roller or caster that successfully solves the problem above stated, and

I have provided simple but ample means, that is readily accessible, for adjusting the spindle, and to lock it in adjustable positions in such 'manner that portions of the structure even though the door may warp or become 'distorted the roller will remain uponand operate along the track.

In the fabrication of a roller or caster of ROLLER 0R oAsTER i 1928. Serial No. 272,254.

this character it is desirable, from a manufacturing standpoint to make the parts as simple aspos'sible from stampings or casting andxautomatic machine-made parts, and to assemble-these parts cheaply by reducing the It is therefore an object of my invention to assemble. -;Further objects ofmy invention resides in the provision of'a roller 01'. caster that embodies dependability and readiness of' operation, durabilityin construction, simplic- I ity and sturdinessintheformation andarrangeni'ent of the parts, accessibility for the --purpo'se ofadjustment, and the whole article is" arranged, fabricated and assembled in a novel and'economical manner which' permits 'it's' being retailed' for a reasonable price to theusenfi I prefer to carry out-my invention, and, to

In the drawings tachedfrom the door, i I Figure 2 is a verticaltransve'rse section on line 22 of Figure 1 showing the device on the lower edge of a door.

l Figure dis a vertical section on lin'e'3 3 1 3 a so 3 Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the roller or caster looking at the rear thereof and deof Figure 2 looking in the direction of the ar- Figure 4 is portion of the roller showing the manner of joining the spindle flange and yoke or guard.

the purpose of disclosing a typical or preferred form'in which my invention may be made and insaiddrawings I have'employed similar reference characters to designate like parts wherever they appear throughout the several views. The door, which a top plan of a 'fragmentary' is designated by the nu The drawings are somewhat schematic for meral (Fig. 2) is provided adjacent its low er longitudinal edge with a notch-or recess 6,

the purpose of which is to permit the swiveling of the roller or caster when the door is being moved to describe a turn or curve in the track 7 that is mounted upon the floor of the show-case or other article of furniture in which the door is mounted. The housing consists of a conical shaped casting 8 from the lowere'dge vof which a cylindrical shaped. apron or skirt 9 depends. The upper portion of the housing is frustrated or truncated in order to provide a flat top portion 10, andextending laterally around the housing is a screws for mounting the roller upon thedoor.

flange 11 that is apertured to receive the Atiits lower iedgesyupon eachside of the apron, the flange 'is' provided with lateral extensions or lips 11 that projectunder the lower edge 'ofthedoorto act as shelvesto assist in supporting thedoor and thus remove some of the strain from the screws. i V The truncated or-upperportion of he'housing is provided with an axial bore '12: that is "screw threaded to receive jthe exteriorly threadedadjusting sleeve 13', 'and the upper 'e'dge of-saidsleeve, which projects above the "housing is thicker than the conical and cylindrical portions thusproviding a longer bearingsurface in the'thre'ade'd bore for thesleeve "and'spindle, For the purpose of providing furthe'r means formaintaining the sleeve 18 inadjusted position, and to positively prevent its rotation, the upper thickened portion of the housing is provided with threaded lateral I bores entering the same in planes "at right adjustable as to height and is maintained in positive relation by the interlockingof the angles to the axes of the sleeve 13 and headless screws 15=are screwed into these'boresuntil 'their-inner'endsengage the threads on the sleeve,'thus interlocking andfposi'tively pre venting-any. rotationof thelattern Thus I have provided a roller witha castera-that is parts.

The spindle 16 of the caster is positioned the-smo'oth'bore of the sleeve 13 so that it will readily rotate therein andat its lower end, below the lower endof the sleeve, there is an integralflangel? between which and the endlof the sleeve anti-frictionballsf18 are interposed to permit easy casting V or swiveli ngnq'After the spindle has been properly A positioned in the sleeve "13, the 'upper'end of said-spindleisoperfated upon by centering punches that form depressions'in the upper endof the spindle and upset theedge of the metal in a lateral direction so as to provide a rim 19at the upper end of the spindle to engage a shoulder 20 that is formed upon the inner bore of the sleeve and thus prevent the spindle falling out of the sleeve.

Upon the lower end of the spindle'lfi a short stud 21 is'formed that enters an aperture in the neck or connecting portion 22 of the U-shapedyoke and guard in which the peripherallygrooved wheel or D11llev23 is 7 journaled. After stud'21 has beeninserted in the aperture its end is struck'fwith airiveting'clevi'ce and headed in the manner shown in- Figs. 2.and 3-so as to secure the "spindle.

and k i sembly. The yoke consists of so a'strip or length of. metal stamped U-shaped with its parallelarm24 extending'downward- 1y or depending from the connecting member 22 and the lower ends of the "arms/are provided with inwardly extending fingersj25 that 585 i extendv towards the track 7 below the periphs ery of the wheel orpulleya'nd-act as guides that prevent any side-slip, of the wheel and assist in maintaining the wheel against dislodgment from the track. 1 Opposite portions of the arms'24'of the,

yoke are apertured to receive theaxle 26 on I which'thewheel or pulley 'is mounted jand" interposedbetween the axle and thewheel'or pulley is a raceway in which anti-frictionew balls; 28 are mounted. As will beseenyth'e' connecting member22 of theyoke isin contact with the under surface. of the integral flange 171of'the spindle and, prior to'assem jbling the structure with the hous'inglthe partssflqo are subjected'to the action of an electricor spot-Welder oneach side of the spindle which operation spreads and unites the flange'and connecting member'as shown at 29 to further insure thepositive assembly of these parts i05 and forming these parts in an integral onepiece unit.

The structure which is herein disclosed is made from castings, stampings, and; parts made up on an automatic screw-machine, andiqlo the assemblyof the yoke and wheel with the spindle 16 is a quick operation and maybe readily accomplished in the desired, manner withfthe economy of both time and-labor so that the cost is thereby materially reduced. E Obviously changes may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the principles involved. The foregoing detailed description and drawings have been given for the purpose of'clearness of understanding-H20 only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended clai'mshould be construed as broadly as permissible inview of the-prior art. f V What-I claim is b 3125 A device of the kind described comprising a housing attachable to the side ofa' sliding door and'opening downwardly, said housing being substantially dome-shaped and having a threaded bore through the axis of the dome,

a threaded sleeve extending through oppo-- site ends of said bore, a rotatable spindle carried by said sleeve, a wheel below said spindle, a yoke secured to the lower end of said sleeve and in which said wheel is mounted, and means engaged with the upper end of the sleeve and abutting the housing to lock said sleeve against rotation, said means and said sleeve being exterior to the housing for ready access.

Signed at Chicago, in the county ofCook, and State of Illinois, this 12th day of April,

1928. MORRIS KURTZON. 

